Self-Perceived Attractive Women Get It All?

So, a recent study by David Buss, a researcher at the University of Texas, has revealed that all women have four basic criteria when they are searching for a long term relationship: good looks, economic resources, nascent parenting skills, and loyalty and devotion. But here's the kicker, the more beautiful a woman thinks she is, the less willing she is to give up anything in any of these areas. The less attractive she finds herself, the more willing she is to relax her expectations. Interestingly, men don't limit themselves this way. Ugly or beautiful, they will still go for the gold standard.

So, there it is ladies, how we gage ourselves physically directly relates to who we think we should be able to date: not our brains, not our success, not our backgrounds, just our looks. Therefore, it could very well be that our own low self-esteem is standing in the way of us getting a man that fulfills all our needs!

You know you've all seen the less-than-gorgeous women who have such healthy self-confidence and a matching gorgeous man to boot... well, this study finally explains how those situations work out the way they do.

If a failure to recognize one's own physical beauty is what's standing in the way of meeting Mr. Right, it seems we have another no man land rule:

"Love thy looks and land thy man"

Here's the article in full:

Do Attractive Women Want it All?

New Study Reveals Relationship Standards are Relative
Although many researchers have believed women choose partners based on the kind of relationship they are seeking, a new study from The University of Texas at Austin reveals women’s preferences can be influenced by their own attractiveness.

David Buss, psychology researcher at the university, has published the findings in “Attractive Women Want it All: Good Genes, Economic Investment, Parenting Proclivities and Emotional Commitment” in this month’s Evolutionary Psychology. Previous researchers argued that what women value depended on the type of relationship they were looking for. Women looking for long-term partners want someone who will be a good provider for them and their children, but women seeking short-term flings care more about masculinity and physical attractiveness, features that may be passed down to children. Buss and Todd Shackelford, psychology professor at Florida Atlantic University, found women ideally want partners who have all the characteristics they desire, but they will calibrate their standards based on their own desirability. “When reviewing the qualities they desire in romantic partners, women gauge what they can get based on what they got,” Buss said. “And women who are considered physically attractive maintain high standards for prospective partners across a variety of characteristics.”

The researchers identified four categories of characteristics women seek in a partner: -- good genes, reflected in desirable physical traits, -- resources, -- the desire to have children and good parenting skills, and -- loyalty and devotion. Most women attempt to secure the best combination of the qualities they desire from the same man, but the researchers said a small portion of women who do not find a partner with all the qualities may trade some characteristics for others. Although women’s selectivity across categories reflected how attractive they appeared to other people, the researchers found the characteristics men desired in a partner did not vary based on their own physical attractiveness.